The Gift Exchange
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: Garcia feels the team should exchange Christmas gifts, with a twist.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: See my profile

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving_

_Author Unknown_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Garcia entered the conference room with her usual flamboyant style, today clad in a red dress and matching glasses while Christmas trees complete with shiny jeweled balls hung from her ears. "Well aren't you just dressed for the season mama," Morgan said from his spot at the coffeemaker where he filled his cup with the dark brew.

"Of course hot stuff," she replied.

"I would expect nothing less." Rossi said as he set his I pad on the table and took his seat.

"I wanted to discuss something," she said when everyone was seated.

"What's that Garcia?" Prentiss asked.

"It's Christmas, and I know we don't usually make a big thing of it, but it seems particularly empty this year without JJ." She paused for a moment while the others waited for what she had to say. "I think we should exchange gifts," she spit out at last.

"Oh Garcia, don't go there mama. It's only a few days before Christmas and you expect us to brave those crowds to find something for each other," Morgan groaned.

"It's a nice idea Garcia, but I can see Morgan's point," Hotch agreed. "I have enough trouble finding the time to shop for Jack."

"That's just it, with my idea we wouldn't have to shop, not in the stores at least," she added.

"So, what, you want us to do it all on line?" Rossi asked.

"No, I want you to do it in your homes," the tech said. "I want us each to find something in our homes that we can give to the person whose name we get. These will be gifts that come from our hearts, not our wallets."

"What have I got that anybody would want?" Reid said quietly.

"Oh come on Reid, I think your collection of books must be second only to the Library of Congress," Rossi smirked.

"Very funny Rossi," Reid said.

"I think that's a lovely idea Garcia, I'm in," Emily said. Morgan merely shrugged his shoulders resigned to the fact that you couldn't say no to Garcia.

"Just think of it as profiling the person whose name you get and finding something in your home that fits them," Garcia said. "Okay, time to pull out names." She pulled a large envelope from the bottom of her things. "Reach in and pull out a name. If you pull out your own, you have to put it back." She passed the envelope to Morgan.

Morgan reached in and pulled out a slip of paper, unfolded it and read the name, "Hotch."

"Good, Reid," she handed the envelope to the genius.

Reid pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it, reading the name silently. "Well kid, who'd you get?" Morgan asked.

"Garcia," Reid replied.

"I can hardly wait to see that," Garcia said as she passed the envelope on to Hotch.

"Prentiss," Hotch said after reading his paper.

Prentiss chose next, "Morgan…better watch out Morgan. Are gag gifts allowed?" she asked Garcia with a smirk.

"Anything's fair game as long as it is not something you buy." She stopped for a moment. "We've had a couple of bad years, a lot of pain, and a lot of losses. We've seen some of the worst… I just think we need to remember that we have our hearts you know, and that we're willing to pass on something that we own, maybe even treasure, to someone else, is a great exercise for our hearts.

Rossi dug in next, picked out his own name, put it back and drew again, "Reid," he said. "Now that should be a challenge."

"That leaves me with you Agent Rossi. Great," she said. "Let the games begin."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

This is great," Morgan said when they were back in the bullpen. "Hotch," he looked at the piece of paper as he talked to Reid. "What do I give to the man who has everything?"

"Morgan, you think you've got problems, I've got Garcia!" Reid squeaked. "And, Hotch doesn't have everything, at least not everything that's important. He lost the woman he loves to a serial killer and he struggles to find the time he needs with his son."

"Reid, you just gave me an idea, but I'll need your help," Morgan said as he explained his thoughts to his co-worker. "You in?"

"I'm in," Reid replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch stared at the bare tree that took up much of his living room. He'd set it up before they'd left for Cleveland, but told Jack it needed to stand for a while before they could decorate it. Jessica and Jack had dragged the Christmas decorations into the room and from a stepstool she had begun to string the lights while Jack was impatiently waiting to put the ornaments in place. The boy ran to his arms and Hotch hugged him close. "Daddy, you're just in time, we're decorating the tree," Jack explained the obvious.

The boy pulled his hand and dragged him toward the tree. Hotch looked at the tree again and then back at his briefcase. There was month end, year end and the Cleveland reports to do, he told himself as he realized Jack was still talking, "…and you can lift me up and I can put the star on top."

"You're right buddy, that's just how we'll do it," Hotch ignored his briefcase. Maybe Jessica would have a suggestion about Prentiss.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reid entered his apartment and shut off the alarm, dropping his messenger and go bags on the floor and plopping down on his couch that sat in the middle of the room. He surveyed the room. Rossi was right about one thing, there were a lot of books. They filled four ebony bookcases in all, one on either side of his 54" television and one on either side of his ebony desk by the far wall. Black bookcases surrounded a black television stand and a black desk. The rest of the room he felt was equally uninspiring, consisting of a grey couch and chair and black coffee and end tables. The brush chrome lamps with grey shades did nothing to add to the room. It was blah he thought and Garcia was anything but blah. She wouldn't be interested in any of his books and a book was not the kind of gift you gave someone like Garcia. She was warmth. She was color. She was life.

There was nothing colorful and lively in his apartment. He got up and went over to his desk, opening drawers to look for some…any inspiration. "Well there's something with color," he said as he found some colorful paper he'd used on a project his philosophy professor had given him, as a scientist, to defend the Descarte/Locke physicist theory of color as opposed to that of a philosopher. Dr. Winston had smirked at the colorful paper. "Aargh," Reid said as he stood and headed for his closet. He had to think of something.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Morgan yawned as he put the lid on the box. It had taken him a while but he thought he'd finally achieved his goal. It was an odd gift, but he hoped Hotch would appreciate it. Clooney put his paw on his master's lap for about the tenth time in the last hour. Morgan ran his hand over the dog's head. "Okay Clooney boy, let's go for a walk"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Garcia's fingers moved swiftly over her laptop. She smiled at the images she saw but she needed to find just the right… "There you are, perfect," she said. Rossi would get a kick out of this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Prentiss walked into her apartment and dropped her go bag just inside the door. She tossed her keys on the kitchen counter as she walked by and headed for the window, the view, always magnificent, was never better than at Christmas time. From her window she could see the bright Christmas lights of the city, culminating with the gorgeous tree outside the Capitol Building. She clicked on the lights of her own small tree and then turned from the window, time to concentrate on Morgan's gift and she knew just what to give him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reid, Rossi said to himself as he thought over the gift exchange dilemma. What does he need or want. A new wardrobe came to mind, he thought as he looked over his vast selection of designer clothes. No, he wasn't going there. Reid's clothes, although not to every man's taste made him, well, Reid. He left his bedroom and went to his den where he surveyed his own vast collection of books. No, he shut that idea down immediately. Reid had probably received books as gifts since he was a small boy, too small. It was time for something better. Suddenly his eyes perked up. He knew just the thing. He pulled his cell from his pocket. He needed to make a call.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See my profile

A/N: The last chapter of this short story. Thanks to all for reading and reviewing. To all out there in fanfiction land, a very Merry Christmas

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay everybody, it's time," Garcia said as their workday on Christmas Eve was almost ending. "Let's exchange our gifts." Each of the team members went to their desk or office to retrieve the box they'd left there, and met in the conference room. "Who wants to start?" Garcia asked. "What about our fearless leader," she looked at Hotch.

Hotch handed a poorly wrapped box to Prentiss. The shiny green ribbon was twisted and loosely tied while it was covered everywhere with tape and stickers. "Merry Christmas," he said. "Jack actually suggested this gift and he wanted to help me wrap it."

Prentiss found her eyes tearing up at the childish wrapping that somehow seemed more beautiful than the most elegant professional wrapping her mother always had done. And where was that compartmentalization for which she was so famous? She smiled at the proffered gift. "I'm glad it gave you and Jack some time together," she said as she began to unwrap the gift that was rather heavy. She opened the box to find a snow globe of the Capitol Building, embedded in white tissue paper, its base the stars and stripes with a flying eagle.

"We got that as a gift some years ago. Jack thought maybe you could take it with you on cases and it would remind you of the view from your window and you wouldn't miss home."

"It's beautiful Hotch," Prentiss choked out at the child's thoughtfulness. "I will treasure it."

"Prentiss, you're up," Garcia said.

Emily handed an oblong box to Morgan and he tore into the wrapping. "Let's see what we have here," he said before opening the box. "Prentiss," he looked at Emily as he withdrew a book from the box. "This is a first edition of Slaughterhouse Five."

"Yeah, and it's signed by Kurt Vonnegut. When I first came here and wasn't sure of my place in the team yet, you made me feel comfortable with our talk about Vonnegut. I saw that on EBay one day and, on a whim, I bought it."

"Prentiss, I can't accept this." Morgan replied.

"Of course you can, and you will." Prentiss persisted.

"Thanks Emily."

"So Morgan, since I showed you mine…" Prentiss said.

Morgan pushed the neatly wrapped box across to the unit chief. "Merry Christmas Hotch."

Hotch didn't tear into the wrapping like Morgan had but he finally freed the box of its covering and opened the lid. The team could see confusion cross Hotch's face as he looked at what appeared to be files. Perhaps he was to be the recipient of the gag gift. "What are these?" he asked.

"Open them and look," Morgan suggested.

Hotch opened the files. "It's the month end and year end reports." He stated as he looked at the files, then at Morgan, slight confusion in his eyes.

"Reid gave me the idea. I wondered what to get for the guy who had everything and Reid said you didn't have everything, that you struggled to have time with Jack. So I thought if I did those, you could read them over, make any changes or additions and send them off to Strauss. It was the only way I could think of to give you the gift of time with your son."

"What about your own consults?" Hotch said. "I don't want you to let your work slip because of me."

"Don't worry, they're all done, Rossi did one, and Reid took most of them. He can go through them faster than any of us."

"Thank you Morgan," the unit chief said quietly. "Thank you all, this is very special."

"My turn," Garcia said, handing a flat package wrapped in newspaper and tied with a red bow to Rossi.

"Why does your choice of wrapping paper not surprise me," Rossi remarked.

"Told you I was going green," she smiled brightly as Rossi removed the paper to reveal a picture in a black frame.

Rossi looked into green eyes that seemed to look back at him. The eyes belonged to a tiny rust colored kitten snuggled like a baby kangaroo in what looked like the pocket of a shirt. The shirt was white but the pocket was Old Glory. His face broke into a huge smile.

"A picture of a kitten, I don't get it," Morgan said.

"Inside joke," was all Garcia would say.

"Care to enlighten us Rossi," Prentiss asked.

"Nope," Rossi said, quickly following it with, "your turn Reid."

He'd been dreading this moment all day. He handed Garcia the box. "Garcia, you have to understand that you're a colorful person and I don't have things in my place like that."

"Fear not sweetcheeks, I'm sure I'll love it. It hardly weighs anything; you didn't go and get a gift card or something, did you? That's against the rules."

"No, I didn't do that but you'll likely wish I had," he responded, as she took the lid off the box.

Garcia looked in the box to see an orange flower with a purple center nestled in green leaves. It looked to be made of… paper. "Is this…"

"Origami," Reid replied. "My friend Eric's mother was at the park one day and she was doing it. She showed me how and I got the rest from books. I find it kind of relaxing when I want to do something with my hands. I thought of a dahlia because flowers are bright, alive and beautiful and you're…uh, those things."

Garcia lifted it carefully from the box to show the others. "Reid it's so beautiful, I love it." She smiled a smile that reached her eyes. She turned and embraced Reid warmly, "Thank you sweetcheeks."

"Well Rossi, last but not least," Garcia announced.

Rossi handed Reid a large flat box that was heavier than he'd been prepared for. He removed the wrapping under his teammates' watchful eyes and took off the lid, his mouth dropping at the contents within. "Rossi this is…oh my God." Reid continued to stare into the box that contained intricately carved chess pieces made of ebony, smooth and polished. He was sure the king was almost six inches. "Rossi, I can't possibly accept…"

"Of course you can. I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't want you to have it. The board that goes with it is actually a table. I didn't bring that with me but I'll drop it by this evening if that's okay."

Reid only nodded, appearing, for once, to be at a loss for words. "Maybe we could have a game."

"Maybe," Rossi replied.

The team members packed up their new treasures, thanked one another again and wished each other a Merry Christmas before going to grab their coats and heading for the elevators and home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

At precisely 7pm Reid's buzzer sounded indicating someone downstairs wanted to be let in. "Hello," he said into the intercom.

"Hi Reid, it's Rossi."

Reid hit the buzzer to release the lock on the downstairs door and waited for Rossi to ring his doorbell. A few minutes passed before his doorbell rang announcing Rossi's arrival with the chess board table. Reid opened the door. "Hi Ros…" The words died on his lips as he looked into the hallway. Rossi was there with the much anticipated chess table to be sure, but so were the rest of the team along with JJ, Will, Henry and Jack. They all appeared to be carrying parts of a Christmas dinner. Will held a covered roaster that contained what Reid's nose told him was a turkey. The three women each held casserole dishes while Hotch held a pie and Morgan a couple of bottles of wine.

"Uh, Reid," Will said when it seemed the genius's mouth was stuck permanently in the gaping position. "Can we come in, this bird is heavy."

"Oh yeah," the stunned profiler said as he opened the door wide for them to enter. "I wasn't expecting…"

"We know that Reid," JJ said. "Surprises are one of the great things about Christmas. We just need to warm these casseroles up in your oven and we're good to go."

"Reid, do you have a platter I can put this bird on?" Will asked after he'd set the turkey on the counter in Reid's kitchen that opened into the living space.

"Platter…" Reid looked as if he'd never heard the word before.

"It's okay Will, I brought one," Prentiss pointed to a tote bag she'd stashed in the corner. "I didn't think it would be high on Reid's list of kitchen essentials."

"Guys I don't know if I have enough…"

"Dishes," Garcia finished for him. "It's okay, I brought plastic. They're better than paper. You can wash them and use them again."

"You don't have a Christmas tree!" Jack suddenly exclaimed. "Where will Santa put your presents?"

The room was silent for a moment. "Oh," JJ said. "I wrote a letter to Santa for Henry and I told him that Spence would be coming to our house on Christmas day so he's leaving them there."

"Nice save JJ," Morgan mumbled as he searched Reid's cupboards for some wine glasses. "Man, you got no wine glasses. What if you have chicks over?"

"Morgan you know I don't…"

"Ahem," Garcia cleared her throat. "We don't need to talk about that right now." She looked at the children. "Anyway, I brought some…"

"Plastic," they all said in unison.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Reid watched as Hotch began carving the turkey, but his eyes kept straying to the table Rossi had brought.

"No," Rossi said, his lips curling slightly at the corners. "Why don't you go set up the chess board, you know you're dying to do it."

The young profiler needed no further coaxing and he quickly put the table near the window. After Christmas he'd get two chairs, he told himself as he began to set the chess pieces in place.

"I don't think that's a good idea," JJ said quietly in a sing song voice.

"What's that?" Jack asked as he and the others in the apartment watched Reid finger each piece like it was gold before putting it on its assigned square.

"It's a game called Chess." Reid replied.

"Game," Henry came toddling over, reaching for one of the pieces, "pay game."

"No," Reid squeaked in terror as he reached out to protect his chess set like a father would protect a child from an armed assassin. "It's not a game for Henry. It's a big person's game," he explained solemnly.

"So, remind us again how old you were when you started playing," Prentiss laughed as she checked on the casseroles in the oven.

"If Reid ever has kids," Morgan said, "he'll have to lock that thing up like Fort Knox."

"No," JJ disagreed as she put rolls on a plate. "It'll be completely different then."

"It was a rather extravagant gift Dave," Hotch said quietly as they watched Reid showing Henry and Jack the pretty horsey.

"Worth more than time with your son?" Rossi asked.

"No, nothing's worth more than that."

"It was a gift from one of my exes," Rossi explained. "I guess the older you get, the more you think. It's the kind of thing you pass on. I don't have any kids. I've got a niece and nephew who would bury it in the attic or sell it at the next yard sale. If Reid has kids, he'll teach them to play on that board. He'll bond with them, they'll talk. And if he doesn't have kids, he'll likely pass it on to Henry. Maybe he'll teach Henry to play right in front of that window."

JJ looked out at Reid and the boys again. "I hope so."

Garcia pulled the plastic plates from their wrapping. "It's like one of those gifts that keeps on giving."

Prentiss pulled the casseroles from the oven. "Time to pop those corks Morgan."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The meal was one of the best Reid had tasted in, well as long as he could remember. Maybe it was the season and the company that made everything taste so good. The kids sat on the stools at the kitchen counter while the adults balanced their meals on their laps or had them on the coffee table as they sat on the floor.

When the meal had ended Prentiss stood up. "I'd like to make a little toast." She cleared her throat. "Christmas is the time for giving and we proved today that we could all give of ourselves to those around us. Christmas is also a time for family. We've taken a big hit in that department this year with the loss of JJ but we hunkered down, we leaned on each other and we got through, because that's what family does. The fact that JJ is here with us tonight says a lot. They can take her from our midst, but not from our hearts, because that's what family is. Being a part of this family is a greater gift than anything I could ever get under my tree. I am blessed," she raised her glass, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," the others said in unison.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, Garcia and Reid cleaned up following the meal. The others had left to get the kids home and in bed in time for Santa. Reid thought there were enough leftovers for a week. His fridge had never looked so full. "First thing in the new year sweetcheeks," Garcia said as she rinsed things and loaded them in the dishwasher, "you and I are going shopping to get some color for this place. A throw and some throw pillows, maybe new lampshades."

"Uh, okay," Reid agreed, a little fearful of what a shopping trip with Garcia might produce.

"I have to go," Rossi said once the cleanup was done.

"What's your hurry, please tell us you're not workin' on wife number four," Morgan asked as he drank the last of his wine.

"No, Jimmy's officiating at midnight mass. I told him I'd be there." He turned back, his hand on the doorknob; his eyes flicked over the four of them and finally rested on Morgan, "You're all welcome to join me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Reid walked behind his friends down the aisle to the pew where they would partake in the mass, he was infused with warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature of the cathedral and everything to do with the joy he'd witnessed on the faces of his friends as they had given and received thoughtful gifts, the camaraderie he'd shared with them over a wonderful meal, and lastly the gift of the priceless chess set. Oh he was sure someone could appraise it in terms of dollars and cents, but to him its value was limitless. It had been a day for gifts, material ones, of course, but more importantly, gifts of the heart. He glanced up at the huge, ornately carved crucifix at the front of the church and was reminded once again that on that first Christmas morn when only a stable sheltered a babe new and small, he had already received the greatest gift of all.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through_

_Author Unknown_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_The End_


End file.
